Oftentimes, large entities, e.g., a government or a large corporation, manage and maintain numerous assets such as fleets of vehicles or other heavy equipment, e.g., delivery trucks or tanks. In so managing and maintaining, these large entities sometimes find it difficult to gather and retain complete and reliable information for life cycle management of property and equipment. Thus, such entities are oftentimes unable to determine that all assets are reported, verify the existence of inventory, substantiate the amount of reported inventory and property, or optimally use historical information for physical asset management.
In light of the foregoing, it is difficult for the large entities to achieve goals of financial reporting and accountability, e.g., legislative goals set for government entities related to financial reporting, accountability, and life cycle management. In this regard, the entities are oftentimes unable to know the quantity, location, condition, and value of assets it owns, safeguard its assets from physical deterioration, theft, loss, or mismanagement, prevent unnecessary storage and maintenance costs or purchase of assets already on hand, and determine the full costs of programs that use these assets, e.g., government programs.
Thus, it is possible that those who manage government assets are not receiving accurate information for making informed decisions about future funding, oversight of federal programs involving inventory, and operational readiness.
As an example, each vehicle in a large fleet is made up of a plurality of parts, each of which is owned and inventoried by the entity. However, information related to parts used in maintenance or parts that are already installed on vehicles can be difficult to track.